Sociol Health Illn. 2015 Feb;37(2):173-83. doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.12260.

Connecting a sociology of childhood perspective with the study of child health, illness and wellbeing: introduction.

Sociology of health & illness

Geraldine Brady, Pam Lowe, Sonja Olin Lauritzen

PMID: 25760921 DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.12260

Abstract

In the last decades we have seen a growing interest in research into children's own experiences and understandings of health and illness. This development, we would argue, is much stimulated by the sociology of childhood which has drawn our attention to how children as a social group are placed and perceived within the structure of society, and within inter-generational relations, as well as how children are social agents and co-constructors of their social world. Drawing on this tradition, we here address some cross-cutting themes that we think are important to further the study of child health: situating children within health policy, drawing attention to practices around children's health and well-being and a focus on children as health actors. The paper contributes to a critical analysis of child health policy and notions of child health and normality, pointing to theoretical and empirical research potential for the sociology of children's health and illness.

© 2015 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

MeSH terms

• Child
• Child Health*
• Child Welfare*
• Humans
• Sociology*

Publication Types

• Introductory Journal Article